Pastor – Rev. Ed Preistaf
Rev. Edward N. Priestaf
God called Ed into the ministry in 2001 while attending Marietta First United Methodist Church in Georgia. Ed served as a student pastor for Rush Chapel, a small country church in Rome, GA while he earned his seminary degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He came to North Carolina with his family in 2006, where he served as an associate at Benson Memorial UMC in North Raleigh. He was appointed to Ebenezer UMC Raleigh in 2010, to McMannen UMC Durham in 2012, and now to Long Memorial in 2018. His kids are Noah, Grace, and Evan. His wife is Jackie Rohde Priestaf.
Ed’s ministry focus has been on teaching and missions. Ed has participated in or led trips to the Blackfeet tribe of Montana, a small rural church and school in Jamaica, an orphanage in the Dominican Republic, and local excursions to Lumberton, the Food Bank’s community garden, North Raleigh ministries, Stop Hunger Now, and Raleigh’s Clubs in the City. At Benson Memorial he helped launch an off-campus young adult ministry called “Another Level”, and at Ebenezer he coached in their huge community-centered Upward basketball and cheerleading program.
Ed has a passion for making disciples of Jesus who make disciples, for building cross-cultural bridges of understanding, for working to end racism wherever it exists, and for helping churches build thriving new relationships with increasingly diverse neighborhoods.
